Hockey, like all sports, requires constant practice to sharpen the skills necessary for one to be proficient.
One of the skills basic to the game of hockey is shooting the puck, and the best target is a live goalie in front of a hockey goal.
Shooters have refined the "slap-shot" to the point where they drive the puck at over 90 miles per hour. This poses a significant risk for the goalie in that he is quite likely to sustain injury under a constant barrage of hockey pucks travelling at this speed, particularly if there is more than one shooter, as there would be in a practice situation. A number of artificial goalie devices have been patented. There are, however, serious disadvantages with these devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,288 discloses a hockey goalie combined with Y-shaped goal tender. A stationary goalie-board device is disclosed having several cut-outs, at the corners and in the center of the goalie-board device. The shooters aims for the cut-outs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,298 discloses a device similar to the above mentioned in that it consists of a stationary goalie-board member. Again there are cut-outs in various locations for the shooter to aim at.
The prior art discloses, basically, goalie-board devices which do not simulate any live activity. Shooters might practice on an open goal for all the skill it gives them with regard to scoring on a live and active goalie.
There is then a need for an automated goalie which simulates live activity to save wear and tear on the team's actual goalie, to economically utilize expensive ice time and to develop the shooters' scoring skills against an active goalie.